Passwords

Passwords are your first and most important line of defense against system intrusion. They are essentially the keys to the kingdom and care should be taken to create and enforce appropriate policies. Here are some recommendations related to password security:

Strong Password Characteristics

• Minimum of eight characters, but the longer the better. Consider the use of a passphrase.
• Contains a mixture of character types (e.g. lowercase, uppercase, numbers, punctuation, special characters).
• Does not contain obvious keywords (e.g. 'password, 'admin,' name of system, name of relative or pet).
• Does not contain common patterns (12345, qwerty, abc, aaaaa, 12321).
   

Password Handling

• Do not write down passwords. Refrain from storing passwords in easily accessible locations (e.g. sticky notes, under keyboards, unlocked drawers).
• Never share passwords with anyone.
• Always treat passwords as you would any strictly confidential information.
• Change account passwords in any system suspected of being compromised.